An opinion poll commissioned by BBC Scotland has shown a clear majority (58%) of Scots want a referendum on independence next year.
The poll also suggests support for the Union outstrips that for independence from the UK.
However, the poll found the percentage of people saying they support independence varies widely depending on how the question is phrased.
The Scottish Government wants to hold a referendum on the issue in 2010.
The poll of 1,010 people, carried out between 22 and 24 June by ICM, found 58% of respondents were in favour of the idea of holding a referendum next year on whether Scotland should become independent, with only 37% against.
When asked "In a referendum on independence for Scotland, how would you vote?", 38% responded that they believed Scotland should become an independent country, with 54% saying they did not believe it should become independent.
However, the pollsters also asked a separate question asking whether people agreed or disagreed that "the Scottish Government should negotiate a settlement with the government of the United Kingdom so that Scotland becomes an independent state" - the preferred wording of the Scottish Government for a future referendum.
In this case, 42% agreed with the statement, with 50% opposed.The poll also asked which of a range of scenarios were closest to people's views of how Scotland should be governed.
Under this wording, only 28% backed the option of Scotland becoming independent of the rest of the UK, with 47% in favour of remaining in the UK, with the Scottish Parliament able to make some decisions about the level of taxation and government spending in Scotland.
A further 22% said Scotland should remain part of the UK, with decisions about the level of taxation and spending in Scotland made by the UK Government.
Finally, respondents were asked whether they believed it was likely or unlikely Scotland would become completely independent from the UK within the next 20 years.
The results showed that 10% thought it was very likely and 28% believed it was quite likely.
However, a larger percentage were not so sure, with 34% responding that it was quite unlikely and 24% believing independence was very unlikely.
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